Expansion joint



April 29, 19%. R. R RcBER-rsow ExPANsxoN Jonwf Filed march 3, 1939 mmm 2Shets-Shee'c 2 Patented Apr. 29, 1941 EXIFANSIN JOINT Robert R.Robertson, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 3, 1939, Serial No. 259,581

6 Claims.

This invention relates to road joints, and more particularly to anexpansion joint of the load distributing type, adapted to be supportedtransversely on a road subgrade to be imbedded between adjacent concreteroad slabs and supporting `or holding expansion fillers, stackingplates, removable cores or the like supported in position. The improvedexpansion joint includes a continuous base having pairs or sets ofdiagonally positioned pockets secured thereon in spaced relation for theslidable reception of reversed angle holders or shoes having anchoringunits secured thereto for imbedding in the concrete road slabs onopposite sides of the joint.

It is an object of this invention to provide expansion joints wherein acontinuous base plate is lprovided with spaced groups or sets ofoppositely directed pockets for the slidable reception of reversedadjacently dispose road transmission units anchored in the road slabs onopposite sides of a joint.

It is also an object of this invention to provide improved type of roadexpansion joints for imbedding between concrete road slabs, said jointsincluding reversed adjacently positioned sets of load transmissionmembers anchored in the road slabs and having portions thereof slidablein receiving pockets secured to a supporting base, with said pocketshaving filler Supporting members forme-d' or secured thereon for thepurpose of holding a core or fiiler in position'seated upon portions ofthe load transmission members which are transversely movable withrespect to the core or filler, with the movement of the road'slabs dueto temperature changes or other causes,

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved andsimplified type of road expansion joint, including a base havingseparated sets of pockets secured thereto for the slidable reception ofload transmitting units which are arranged for supporting a road filleror core between flange members or projections formed on the pockets toprevent sidewise shifting of the core or filler with the shifting of theload transmitting units with the movement of the road slabs.

A further object of the invention is the provision of expansion jointswherein sets of filler supporting load transmitting members areshiftably supported on a base plate and slidable in r housings orpockets provided with fastening lugs which are projected through slotsin the base member.

It is furthermore an object of this invention to provide an improvedtype of road expansion joint including a plurality of pairs or sets ofload transmitting members each of which is provided with anchoringmembers or arms which are integrally connected by means of a bridgepiece for securing the same to a load transmitting member and providinga recess for the reception of concrete forming a part of the road slabsbetween which the expansion joint is imbedded.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved andsimplified type of road expansion joint and load distributor, includinga base strip having staggeredlsets of pcckets secured thereto in spacedrelation for the slidable reception of sets of reversed adjacentlydisposed filler supporting load transmitting shoes each of which isprovided with anchoring arms connected by means of a bridge piece, withthe anchoring arms disposed in the same plane or offset with respect toone another.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent from thedisclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of an expansion joint embodyingthe principles of this invention and disclosing a continuous base andfiller, anda plurality of spaced sets of load transmitting membershaving'interfitting slidable relationship with pockets formed on thebase.

Figure 2 is an enlargedivertical detail sectiontaken on line II-II ofFigure 1, showing the joint imbedded between concrete road slabs. j

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the sets of loadtransmission members and the supports therefor.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view taken on line IV-IV of Figure3, illustrating the details of the pocket fastening means.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail section taken on line V-V of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an end View of a modified form of road expansion joint,showing a modified offset arrangement of the anchor arms of the loadtransmission members.

Figure 7 is a Side view of one of the sets of load transmission membersof the type illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 8 illustrates a modified form of load transmission unit, providedwith a looped anchoring member.

As shown in the drawings:

The present invention is adapted not only for use in holding expansionjoint fillers or cores in place transversely of a road, but is alsoadapt- `ed for use as a contraction joint and load distributing devicefor holding metal cracking plates in place transversely of a road, orlongitudinally in a road if the improved joint is adopted to serve as acenter joint.

In the form of expansion joint illustrated in Figures 1 to inclusive,Figure 2 illustrates concrete road slabs I and 2, which are formed on aroad subgrade and which imbed the expansion joint therebetweentransversely in a road. Supported in position between the concrete roadslabs I and 2 is an expansion joint core or filler board 3, which,before the pouring of the concrete, is held in position by the improvedexpansion joint of this invention.

The improved joint unit comprises a sheet metal base plate 4, the lengthof which corresponds with the length of 'the joint, which, in theordinary form of expansion road joint, extend's from the center joint ofthe road transversely across the subgrade to the side of the road.

supported in spaced relationship to one another upon the top of the'base plate 4 are a plurality of sets or pairs of metal housings orpockets, each of which is open at the bottoml andI at the rear andconsists of side walls 5, a front wall 5, and a top wall 1. The top 'Iof each of the housings or pockets is continued and is bent upwardly onitself to form: an upwardly projecting flange 8 which terminates in abase fiange 9 which projects outwardly and rests upon the top surface ofthe top=wa1l 'I of the pocket.

As further illustrated in Figure 4, the' base plate 4 around each of thehousings or pockets is provided] with side slots III, a front slot I I,and auxiliary slots I2, which are parallel to the side slots III and arespaced a short distance therefrom to the outside of the side walls 5 ofthe pockets. Integrally formed on the lower edge of the front wall 6 ofeach of the pockets` is a finger or lug I3 which projects downwardlythrough the base slot II and is bent over at right angles against thebottom of the base plate. Integrally fo-rmed on the lower margin of theside walls 5 of each of the pockets are fingers or lugs M, which areprojected downwardly through the slots IO of the base plate and are bentover at right angles against the bottom surface of the base plate.

As clearly illustrated in Figure 1, it will be noted that the pockets orhousings are arranged in staggered or offset pairs upon the base plate 4and have the openings thereof positioned toward| the center line of thebase plate.

Associated with each pair o-f pockets on the base plate are a pair ofload transmission units which are reversed with respect to one anotherand have sliding engagement with the respective 'pockets or housings onthe base plate. Each of the load transmission units comprises a'holderor shoe consisting of an angle member, including a base fiange IE and anintegral upright holder flange IEI. The holder or shoe is positionedwith the base fiange I projecting into a base pocket;

thereby providing an arrangement wherein the two holders or shoes ofeach group are positioned adjacent one another, but are reversed withrespect to one another, so that the holders or shoes have slidableengagement with the base pockets of the load transmissicn group. Brazedor otherwise rigidly secured to the upright flange 56 of each of theload transmission holders or shoes is an anchoring unit consisting of apair of hook-shaped arms I'I, the lower ends of which are integrallyconnected to one another by means of an arched or curved connector orbridge piece I8. As shown in Figure 1, each of the anchoring units hasthe bridge piece |8 thereof arched so that when the bridge piece isbrazed or solderedl to a flange I, an opening is left between the flangeI 6 and the bridge piece IB at IS which is adapted to be filled withconcrete when the concrete road slabs are formed. After the Variouspairs of holders or load transmission shoes are engaged in the pocketson the base, the filler or ;core 3 is engaged in position between theupright fianges Is of the load transmission shoes, with the lower edgeof the filler or core 3 resting upon the horizontal flanges I5 of thevarious holders or shoes which are then pushed inwardly toward oppositesides of the filler or core 3. t Will also be noted that the filler orcore 3, when seated upon the base flanges I5 of the shoes, is supportedon opposite sides by means of the pocket flange's 8. To hold the holdersor shoes in the filler holding position, fingers or lugs 20 are struckupwardly from the base 4 to seat against the outer faces of the uprightfianges I of the holders or load transmission shoes.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, a modified form of the expansion joint isillustrated and the parts which are similar to those illustrated anddescribed in connection with Figures 1 to 5 of the drawings aredesignated by corresponding reference numerals. In the modified form ofthe joint structure the double thickness flanges B of the pocketsor'housings on the base plates are replaced by single thickness flanges2|. The flanges 2| are integral parts of the top plates of the housingsor pockets and! said fianges 2| are bent upwardly to form opposite sidesupports for the lower portion of the filler or core 3 when the same isplaced` in position upon the base flanges I5 of the load transmissionshoes.

In the modified form of the transmission joint, modified anchoring unitsare brazed orfotherwise rigidly securedto the upright flanges 15 of theload vtransrnission shoes, and each consist of a pair of anchoring arms22 which are integrally connected by means of an arched bridge piece 23,and, as clearly illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the two arms of eachanchoring unit are offset vvith respect to one another to extend indifferent inclined planes for imbedding in the concrete slabs of theroad.

The improved expansion joint of this invention consists of the baseplate with the sets or groups of load transmission mechanisms arrangedin spaced' relation for the reoeption of the filler or core 3 formingpart of the expansion joint. The various parts comprising the joint maybe assembled on location, that is, the base plate with the pockets`secured thereto may be shipped as a unit, as well as the individualload transmission units and the filler or core. When the base plate isplaced in position upon a road subgrade, the load transmission shoeswith the anchoring arms forming a part thereof may be inserted in thebase pockets, after which the filler or core 3 is adapted to be engagedin position to permit concrete to be poured on opposite sides of thejoint mechanism to form` the road slabs i and 2. It will be appreciatedthat even the pockets may be shipped separately from the base plate 4,and said poekets may be engaged to the base plate on location ifdesired. In cases where it may be more desirable to receive a completeexpansion joint unit the various parts may be assembled before shipment.

azsaese With the improved joint imbedded in the concrete forming theroad, it will be noted that the road transmission shoes which areimbedded in the concrete slabs will move with the slabs with thecontraction and expansion of the same due to temperature changes. Whenthe road transmission shoes move, they also have slidable movement withthe respective pockets on the base plate l. With the contraction orexpansion of the road slabs, the pockets on the base plate may be causedto move with respect to the base plate, and if such movement isproduced, the lugs 13 and will be bent or sheared off, while the lugs |4of the pockets will be permitted to slide in the slots ID. The movementof the fingers or lugs l-'l with respect to the base plate isfacilitated by the provision of the slots |2 in the base platepermitting the material of the base plate between the slots IO and |2 tobe expanded upwardly sufficiently to permit movement of the lugs |4therebeneath.

A modified form of load transmission unit is illustrated in Figure 8.The modified load transmission unit comprises an angle-shaped holder orshoe 24 having rigidly secured by brazing or other suitable means, tothe back of the upper margin of the upright flange the ends of a loopedanchoring member 25 which is disposed at an angle. The outer portion ofthe anchoring member 25 is wider than the attached end thereof. Modifiedforms of the load transmitting units, of the type illustrated in Figure8, are adapted to be used to be slidably engaged in the base platepockets of the joint, similar to the arrangement illustrated in Figure2.

It Will of course be understood that various details of construction maybe varied througha wide range Without departing from the principles ofthis invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patentgranted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A road joint former for imbedding between adjacent concrete roadslabs, said road joint former comprising' a base plate, a plurality ofspaced groups of staggered pocket members secured upon the base platewith the alternate pocket members opening in opposite directions, afiller member above the base member, flange means formed on the pocketmembers and contacting opposite sides of the filler member, and spacedgroups of alternately arranged reversed load transmission unitsprojecting in opposite directions beneath the filler member and slidablyengaged in the pocket members.

2. A joint former for imbedding between adjacent concrete road slabs,said joint former comprising a base, a plurality of spaced sets ofdiagonally arranged reversed pockets secured upon the base, supportingfianges formed on said poclets, a filler member having opposite sidesthereof contacting the flanges on said pockets, a plurality of holderstransversely mounted on said base and slidable in said pockets, saidholders projecting in opposite directions beneath the filler member tosupport the same in place, and multiple-armed anchoring means on saidholders and alternately anchoring the holders in adjacent road slabs toslide the holders in said pockets transversely of the base to compressthe filler member when the adjacent roadV Sections are eX- panded due totemperature changes.

3. A road joint former for imbedding between adjacent concrete roadslabs, said road joint former comprising a base plate, a plurality ofpockets on said base plate with adjacent pockets opening in oppositedirections, means for securing the pockets to the base plate, a fillermember above the base plate, a plurality of staggered alternatelyreversed holders on said base plate and projecting into said pockets andsupporting the filler in place, and anchoring means on each of saidholders, each of said anchoring means comprising a plurality ofanchoring arms integrally connected by a bridge member rigidly securedto a holder.

4. A road joint former for imbedding between adjacent concrete roadslabs, said joint former comprising a base plate having groups of slotstherein, a plurality of staggered pockets arranged on said base platewith adjacent pockets reversed With respect to one another, fasteningmeans on said pockets engaged through the slots in said base plate, afiller member above the base plate, a plurality of angle-shaped holdersprojecting in opposite direotions beneath the filler member and slidablein said pockets, and a plurality of anchoring arms on each of saidangle-shaped holders and imbedded in adjacent concrete road slabs.

5. A load transmission joint comprising a base plate, having a pluralityof groups of slots therein, a plurality of reversed diagonallypositioned pockets on said plate, fastening means on said pocketsengaged through the groups' of slots in the base plate to hold thepockets in position, diagonally arranged and alternately reversed plateholders slidably engaged in said pockets, means struck from said baseplate for limiting the out- Ward movement of said holders With respectto said pockets, and anchoring units secured to said holders, each ofsaid anchoring units comprising a pair of hook anchoring arms integrallyconnected by an arched bridge piece which is rigidly secured to a holderleaving an opening between the bridge piece and the holder.

6. An expansion joint unit including in combination a load transmittingdevice comprising an angle-shaped holder, a plurality of hookedanchoring arms, and an arched bridge piece integrally connecting saidvarms and rigidly secured to the holder leaving an opening between theholder and the arched bridge piece.

ROBERT R. ROBERTSON.

